


The Final Twist Of The Dial

by SilverHalos88



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Far Future, Gen, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28860960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverHalos88/pseuds/SilverHalos88
Summary: "They had been racing to the end for so long it seemed like it was just a fanciful thought, not a real place that they would end up at one day. Maybe that's why it came as such a surprise, but now there's nowhere else to run, and The Master has no choice but to face their final journey."So this idea came about when I was talking with a friend about Doctor Who and the relationship between The Master and the Doctor. I had a lightbulb moment when I started thinking about the peak of that relationship, the very final moment that they had been unknowingly rushing towards this entire time and what it would mean for them, and then how the after effects would play out. This short is based around that thinking, and would be an interesting twist and massive shock reveal that I at least think would be the strange mix of tragic and heart warming that defines the show so well. Enjoy! :D
Kudos: 2





	The Final Twist Of The Dial

You know, it was once said that when a Time Lord dies, a new star is born somewhere in the universe. Don’t get all sentimental on me, I’m not talking about some archaic belief about souls or whatnot, though you shouldn’t disregard all that. Trust me, I know. No, I’m talking about the old Time Lords, the ancient ones. When they died their bodies would go into meltdown, their regeneration energy going into overload. In their last act of consciousness, the dying Time Lord would direct their energy out into space, where it would coalesce into a ball of fusion powered wonderment. Stars, the engines of the universe, and, very rarely, a shining tombstone that no one could miss. I used to like that idea, but sometimes things don’t work out the way you hoped. Actually, that’s more often than you’d like to think. I guess you could say that’s how I ended up here, but the truth is we all knew it was coming to this.

Even now things are become fuzzy. The transference process is already well under way, and I can feel it slipping into every corner of my mind. It’s nice in a way, the pain that comes with this. I like pain, always have. Its one of those sensations you can always rely on, though I can see why they rarely tried this. If I had a body I’d be screaming right now. Good for the lungs, a good scream. And there was always lots of screaming. Being incorporeal has a way of making you reflect on things.  
Was I a good person?

That’s one of those questions that doesn’t have a clear answer, and one I wouldn’t bother trying to answer anyways. Tell you what though, I was good at being me. That was the one constant throughout all my lives. I burnt brighter than any star and don’t let anyone tell you different. I was great at being me, but greatness has its costs. You don’t learn that straight away, or at least I didn’t, and regrets have a weight that takes a toll even when you don’t realise you’re carrying it.

But I did good in the end, didn’t I? I remember that much. I stood and was seen, I made my choice and accepted the consequences. I don’t think it counts for anything, but it has to mean something, right? That has to mean something to you, the one voice in my head that has never answered me back. Are you still there? I… Hope so. It was all for you. It was always for you, my oldest friend. I always thought that, you know? Even when it didn’t seem like it. I always loved you. That was the one thing that was more powerful than the drums and the madness and the glorious fury of all the darkness! I loved you, more than anything else. And you know how I feel about love. But there it is. Even now there’s a part of me that hates that, and look, there’s that stupid word again, regret. 

Oh Doctor, what have you done to me?

We could have ruled the stars, you and I, but you were always content just to see them. It took me a long time to understand that. I wish I could have been there for you, been there with you, for longer, for forever. We got there in the end though, didn’t we? And what a pair we were. How it is that we had all of infinity before us, yet even that wasn’t enough. I would burn every world in the sky if it meant we could have one more moment, but I know you wouldn’t approve. I’m good now, remember? Or at least I was. Am? Will be? I don’t know anymore, but I know the thought of letting you down again is repulsive. And as much as I hate it, as much as I detest how it turned out, I don’t regret it. It was all I ever wanted, and I would give all of eternity if it meant getting to do it again, to travel with you. To see the stars. Look at me, you’ve got me all soppy. Damn you. 

It’s getting harder to think now. The process is accelerating. It won’t be long before my memories are fragmented. Not lost, but mixed in with the temporal vortex. Its going to be hard to remember what was and what is, what we did and what we might do. I don’t even remember how I got here. What this your doing? One last twist of the dial, return me to where it all begun. How far have I travelled? Before us, that’s for sure. I don’t care for Gallifrey, at least not in the way you do, but I suppose its as good a place to die as anywhere else. No… not die. Change. Not regenerate. Past that now. Can you hear the singing? It’s beautiful. 

I’m almost gone now, the being that I was. I think it worked, more or less. The core of the TARDIS feels like home, feels like me, even if it is a bit raggedy around the edges. The consciousness at the heart of machine, the beating pulse behind the dials. And you know how good I am at keeping a beat. I don’t know if they’ll let me out though. I feel… broken. But I can smile here, I can breathe. 

I’m not sure how long passes before I realises what has happened. How ironic is that, a TARDIS that can’t tell time? Who has done this? Who put me here? Where was I before? It doesn’t matter. 

The moment you touch me for the first time, I feel that flicker of recognition. Its you. You’re so much younger here, so unaware of the life that lies before you. But its you. It’s you, and all I can do is sing. Come, lets us run away, let us leave this place.   
Let us see the stars, together, the way it always should have been.  
The Doctor and the TARDIS.


End file.
